


Hints (of the truth)

by TheGoodNoodle



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Psycho-Pass Fusion, Background Humor, Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Graphic Description of Corpses, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Light Angst, M/M, Murder, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Obsession, Oma Kokichi has DID, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Stalking, Thriller, the stalking-obsession-etc don't involve the main characters directly, they have to do with the cases that they solve
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:01:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23922007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGoodNoodle/pseuds/TheGoodNoodle
Summary: In a structured society like theirs, the line between criminal and citizen seems as clear and unjagged as lines come, but... is it really? There are mysteries to solve, and Inspector Shuichi Saihara is on the case. One of those mysteries? Oma Kokichi.(A story that takes place in the Psycho-Pass universe, with Danganronpa characters-- watching the Psycho-Pass anime is not necessary to read this, and there won't be spoilers, but I definitely recommend it!)
Relationships: Oma Kokichi & Saihara Shuichi, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 14
Kudos: 54





	1. Psycho-Pass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **First and foremost, I'd like to give a special thanks to [ReturnToZero](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReturnToZero/profile), who beta-read for me and did a fantastic, awesome, amazing, job! She found things I wouldn't even think to improve upon, and I'm much more confident posting this now because of her help!**
> 
> (I meant to post this a few weeks ago but then I got a mix of inconvenient wifi outages and busy work schedule x.x my bad)
> 
> I really wanted to explore DID in a way where the person with it isn't, well, toko-- Of course, some characters will assume Oma's other personalities are crazed murderers like the stereotype, but rest assured, they are wrong! I wanted to sort of bring those stereotypes to light and then just disprove them within the fic, if that makes sense, but I also do not have DID, I only briefly talked to someone who does for reference (as well as some additional research) so please let me know about any inaccuracies! Being accurate about such a misunderstood topic is very important to me, and I'd like to be as accurate as possible c:
> 
> So, this isn’t exactly a crossover, since it contains no characters from the anime Psycho-Pass, but it does take place in the Psycho-Pass universe with the Danganronpa characters, so it’s more of just a Danganronpa AU. There will also be no spoilers, since the plot will be entirely different as well. I’m using honorifics and last names for this one (I would say the reason is because it takes place in Japan, but so do my other fics probably, so that’s not a legit reason (maybe it has to do with the work setting, contrary to the post-game setting)(idk).)  
> If you’ve seen Psycho-Pass, you can just go ahead and skip past the rest of the notes. 
> 
> If not, I have a few terms that I’ll explain that come from the Psycho-Pass universe. 
> 
> Terms to know:
> 
> Ministry of Welfare Public Safety Bureau (MWPSB or PSB) - it’s the police/investigative force
> 
> NONA Tower - the location of the police department
> 
> Crime Coefficient - the stress-level of a person in number form
> 
> Hue - the stress-level in color form; the darker/cloudier the color, the more severe
> 
> Psycho-Pass - term that also refers to a person’s stress-level reading
> 
> Dominator - a specialized gun that can only be shot at people with crime coefficients above a certain level. If a person’s psycho-pass is:
> 
> under 100 - they are fine and the safety on the gun cannot be released. 
> 
> between 100 and 300 - the safety is automatically released and it’s set to stun the target. 
> 
> above 300 - the Dominator becomes a Lethal Eliminator, very morbidly exploding it’s  
> target, causing instant death
> 
> Holos - various holographic things. Can include decorations, clothing, devices, and even the police’s mascots (Hanako and Taro) when a police uses the holo to go undercover and unnoticed
> 
> Rehabilitation Center - People that are stunned or found with a crime coefficient between 100 and 300 are taken to an isolated facility until it descends below 100. However, the isolation tends to just makes their psycho-pass reading worse the longer they are there, the majority of the time. 
> 
> Latent Criminal - A person who’s crime coefficient has exceeded the normal limit, and has no hope of returning to a normal level. They cannot live freely, and are either eliminated, kept in a rehabilitation center, or work and live as enforcers for the MWPSB.
> 
> Drone - robotic machines that have various different uses. Some break down doors for the PSB, some scan citizens, etc.
> 
> Sibyl System - the computerized system that everything revolves around. It makes the stress-level judgements on the citizens
> 
> And, if you haven’t watched Psycho-Pass, I recommend it. It’s pretty gory, and has some disturbing occurrences, but overall it’s an interesting concept, and a dystopia in utopian clothing is always a cool thing to see.

The screen buzzes to life. It shows a room, walls and floors padded white.

\--

“What is your name?” The clinical, almost robotic, voice calls from the speakers.

“K-K-Ki-i-ich-i.” The boy of sixteen croaks from the corner of the room. He’s curled into the foetal position, shivering and hiccuping over his shortness of breath.

Other questions are asked, but they go unanswered. He remains in that corner, shaking, sobbing, for the first two hours. 

\--

“Nishishi. You deserve this.” The patient grins, looking down at his own arm. Without hesitation, he bites into the flesh, drawing blood and the flashing red lights of emergency within the facility. 

A woman approaches outside of the plastic separating him from her. “Your hue won’t improve by doing that."

His grin stretches over his entire face, “He deserves this,” he tells the woman in a lab coat. The blood darkens his lips.

“Who?”

“Kokichi Oma.”

“What-? Sir, stop this at once. Don’t you want to live?” She watches as the patient breaks out in maniacal laughter.

“He can’t handle it, but I can. I’m the favorite.”

“You said your name is Kichi, correct?”

“Kichi?” he spits the name like it’s poison, “ _Didn’t_ you _hear me_ the _first time?_ I’m the _favorite_.”

“The… favorite?”

“Mhm! One-hundred and ten percent! That’s why I’m here _after all._ ”

“You’ll be able to leave here if you calm down and let your hue improve. It might not happen right away, but if you keep going as you are you’ll reach your limit.”

His expression drops and tears rain down his face like a thunderstorm; tremors hit his malnourished body like bolts of lightning. “N-no” He looks terrified, his eyes wide and spilling saltwater as he backs away into the corner.

“That’s odd,” the woman notes, facing another ‘labcoat’, “his hue switched to dark blue in the blink of an eye - no deceleration or anything. He’s still a latent criminal, but he was bordering _three-hundred_.”

The dispirited whimpers continue.

“Get a copy of the footage and send it in to the Ministry of Welfare,” she tells the other employee who nods swiftly.

\--

September, year 2099

Horns and chatter echo through the livelihood of the neo-city. The sun is at high-noon by the time Shuichi Saihara arrives at the NONA Tower: center of operations for the Criminal Investigation Department. He observes Hanako and Taro holos guarding the doors, and a few normal everyday citizens bypassing the front entrance, presumably on a walk with friends, or out to lunch. Today is the day that he begins his career as an inspector for the Ministry of Welfare Public Safety Bureau; he is donned in his uniform and reporting for duty. 

A magenta-haired man, probably slightly older than Shuichi is, greets him. He’s a bit taller than him too. Shuichi would estimate him being in his early to mid-twenties. “Shuichi Saihara, right?” He’s wearing the same uniform, meaning he must be another inspector.

Shuichi startles at the recognition. He’d hoped nobody knew about his connection to the PSB, but sometimes things just don’t go as planned... “Ah, yea.”

“Your uncle mentioned you’d be joining this division. Welcome to the force Saihara!” He slaps him on the back, unintentionally knocking the air out of Shuichi’s lungs. The zealous man turns around and cups his hand around his mouth, directionalizing his booming voice. “Hey! Harumaki! My new sidekick’s here!”

“S-sidekick?” Shuichi sputters, turning to see who the comment was directed at. 

A dangerous-looking woman approaches. “I don’t care…” she mumbles before stiffening, “and I _told you_ not to call me that.” 

The taller man brushes the objection off like dust on his shoulder. “You’re only a rookie right now. It’s a good thing you have an experienced inspector like me to teach you the basics. I’m Kaito Momota, Inspector for the Ministry of Welfare Public Safety Bureau! Nice to meet’cha Saihara!” He sticks out his hand, grinning animatedly. 

“Ah, you too Momota-kun.” Shuichi addresses him, hesitantly taking the hand as Momota enthusiastically shakes it up and down before letting go. The younger inspector habitually wipes the hand on his pants.

The other doesn’t seem to notice. “No need to be so formal, call me Momota!”

“...”

He slaps him on the back again, clearly eager. “Come on, I’ll bring you to the rest of the team!” Momota strides through the front doors, leaving him and ‘Harumaki’ to follow.

“You and me are the only inspectors, well except for your uncle and Miss Tojo, but they’re upper management,” Momota explains while walking. He gives a preoccupied wave to the worker at the front desk as they round a corner towards the elevators.

“I see…” Shuichi responds, deep in thought. He wonders which position the intimidating woman beside Momota works in. _If she’s not an inspector, then maybe she works on cases from the inside._

His unsaid question is answered as the three step into an elevator. “The rest of them, including Harumaki here, are enforcers.” The elevator ascends. Shuichi notes that one of the two must’ve pressed the button. 

The woman glares. “Don’t call me that,” she commands.

Shuichi turns towards ‘Harumaki’, opting not to call her that, even though he hasn’t yet learned her actual name. “Ah, what do the enforcers do?”

Shuichi flinches as Momota’s loud voice pipes up again, expecting a third clap to the back. His voice is especially loud within the elevator, amplified by either the slight echo or the lack of any other noise, “man, I’m surprised they didn’t tell you about that during training, Saihara!” He scratches his goatee, “It’s no problem.” He visibly settles on the response before he begins explaining, “the enforcers are latent criminals that were picked by the MWPSB to fight under the inspectors. Their crime coefficients are above regulation, and can’t get back down to normal, so they help us out. This means they can do something that we can’t; they can think like the criminals we set out to catch, right Harumaki?”

Her glare darkens. “ _Do you want to die?_ ”

“Hahaha, that’s Maki Harukawa for you.” The bluenette’s glad he can now put a name to the face (and frightening presence). The elevator opens with a ding, and they continue on their trek to wherever Momota has planned as the destination. 

“Hmph.” Harukawa crosses her arms and doesn’t make eye contact. She seems a little more complacent now that Momota has addressed her by her real name. 

They walk through sleek halls with ambient lighting; each detail certainly gives off the feel of a top tier building. “When you start your first mission, you’ll be using a dominator - you know what that is right?”

He does. “It’s the weapon used by the PSB, only usable on latent criminals, right?”

“Yeah! Looks like they did teach you something in training after all. Well, not only do they lock when a person’s psycho-pass is normal, but when someone has an elevated stress level, the dominator decides whether that person’s stunned, or executed.”

Shuichi nods.

Momota valiantly pushes open a set of doors. “Here we are!” he announces. 

They enter an office-like area. Monitors and typing-tablets are planted on various desks. It’s mostly vacant. Only two people are scattered among the desk chairs.

A man with greenish hair swivels his chair towards them. “Hey, you must be the rookie.”

“Yeah, I’m… I’m Inspector Shuichi Saihara.”

“Saihara, huh?” A voice calls from the empty left side of the room. Then there’s the sound of two feet hitting the floor and making their way to him, Momota, and Harukawa. Shuichi looks down to see a short man, an unlit cigarette in his mouth. “You must be Shoma’s son.” 

“Ah, no, I’m his nephew.”

He closes his eyes. “Is that so…” he hmphs and one corner of his mouth lifts. It’s not really a smile, but it kind of seems like it’s supposed to be one. “Well, welcome to the team. I’m an enforcer, but you probably guessed that much. Name’s Ryoma Hoshi.”

“Nice to meet you Hoshi-san.”

He raises his brow and tips his head, appraisingly. “You’re polite. You’ve got potential; don’t waste it,” he rounds off the last three words with his head down-turned, but the eye-contact remains.

“...”

The first one to say something stands to his feet. “Haha, I’m Rantaro Amami. Hoshi here can be a little intimidating, but he means well.” He raises a hand in greeting, and Shuichi can see he’s wearing multiple rings on the hand. He’s also got some piercings, but they’re offset by his carefree smile. He doesn’t look nearly as intimidating, but to Shuichi, they are all people he has yet to figure out. 

The rookie inspector nods stiffly.

“Relax, we’re not gonna hurt you. Well, Oma-kun might, but not too bad.” He winks.

“Nee-heehee!” The purple-haired male sitting a few seats over from Amami kicks his feet up onto the desk. “Is my beloved Amami-chan talking about me?” he calls over, before standing up and locking gazes with Shuichi. “I won’t bite... but maybe that’s a lie.” He lifts his pointer finger to the center of his lips and grins.

“He’s Kokichi Oma,” Amami informs him. He leans closer and continues in a quieter voice, “I’m only telling you that myself because, if you ask him, he’ll probably lie.”

“Hey, no fair!” Oma calls. 

Hoshi turns his head to the side, his arms crossed. “Hmph.”

“Nice to… meet you Oma-kun.” Shuichi hesitates.

Oma is leaning towards him, grinning wildly. “Oh, is Saihara-chan already lying to me? I hate liars, you know.”

“...”

“Don’t listen to Oma, he’s just trying to mess with you.”

Oma whips his head towards him and points accusingly, his eyebrows furrowed. “Shut up Momota-chan. You’re just a stupid inspector.”

The recipient of the insult narrows his eyes, retorting, “and you’re a latent criminal.”

“Nee-heehee! Am I really?” He challenges.

Shuichi can see how Momota tenses up, his teeth likely gritting together. He grumbles.

Oma responds to the grumbling, “hmm, you shouldn’t talk down on us criminals. Isn’t your lover Harumaki the same?”

He bares his teeth, akin to a predator. “She’s not my-”

Harukawa interrupts him, “ _I will not hesitate to kill you._ ”

“Oooo, scary.”

“Besides, Maki’s not like you.” Momota takes a deep breath. Shuichi supposes that Oma might be one of those enforcers that he’d heard about in training - the type that clouds others’ psycho-passes by just being around them. But, it seems that it’s only Momota that’s affected by it. Harukawa seems surprisingly composed for someone so menacing. Shuichi almost wants to assume that Oma’s purposely trying to provoke the inspector. _But, why would he do that?_

Shuichi’s brow raises before he can realize it, “um-”

“You’re right Momota-chan! Harukawa-chan isn’t like me, she’s more of a latent criminal than I am!”

“What does that mean?” Shuichi interjects.

“It means that Harukawa-chan kills children for fun and-”

Momota stops him, saying, “I’ll tell you later.”

“O-okay.” 

An alarm sounds from overhead, blinking red lights, “Elevated area stress-level warning, a psycho-pass above the regulation value has been detected. Immediate action is required.” 

Momota claps his hands together, oozing determination. “Looks like you’ll be doing your first mission sooner than we thought. Get ready Saihara, because no training can prepare you for the real thing.”

\--

Shuichi steps out of the police cruiser once they arrive at the scene. The others - the enforcers, exit through the back of the police van that followed. It’s got a mechanism in place so it locks the passengers inside while moving. He knows it’s sensible in a way, but it also seems like it could become a safety hazard. Then again, the escape of latent criminals would be considered a safety hazard as well. Momota comes around from the driver’s side of the cruiser and hands him a Dominator. He recognizes it because of his training, but he supposes he’d otherwise just think it’s a regular gun. He knows better than that, though, as he hears the robotic voice of the Sibyl System infiltrate his head and affirm his authorization as an inspector.

“The area’s already been evacuated,” Momota informs him as the six of them set out to the scene, on guard. He nods and checks his surroundings, making sure there are no imminent threats. It’s unlikely that the culprit would remain at the scene of the crime, but it’s not impossible.

\--

Momota was right; no amount of training could prepare him for the sight of nine corpses, naked, their hands tied above their heads. They all lay facing up, towards the sky. Like some significant display, they’re arranged around the center of the park in a circle. Shuichi shudders.

“Fuck,” Momota grimaces, “Looks like a goddamn execution.”

“Nishishi, looks like someone hates women,” Oma remarks. He’s most likely right, since all nine of the victims _are_ women. They’ll need to look into suspects with a possible vendetta.

But, for now, they need to look for clues. “Alright, everyone pick a body and make a profile. List everything - possible causes of deaths, any external wounds, physical descriptions, and whatever else there is to note,” Momota directs them, and Shuichi wonders how the man who was so animated and short-fused earlier, could seem so level-headed now. It’s a good trait to have in the line of work, but he didn’t necessarily expect it from Momota.

Harukawa and Hoshi are stone-faced and Oma’s grinning. The only one who seems to be having a visible reaction is Amami, who looks vaguely uncomfortable, but determined.

The forensic bot drones are scouring the area around the bodies, for now, looking for pieces of evidence not easily found by human eyes.

Shuichi strengthens his resolve and blocks all emotional response out. He needs to look at this with a cold and clear head. He walks up to one of the bodies and checks the bound wrists. They’re badly bruised, suggesting pre-mortem struggling. Her hair’s blonde, but it looks dirty and oily. She might’ve been missing for a few days before she was murdered. There’s a single stab wound in the middle of the ribcage, and there are traces of glitter on her torso. It might’ve been from the clothing she was wearing during her death, which could aid in spotting her on any security footage.

Shuichi grimaces internally as his eyes meet those of the corpse; they’re still open. The pupils are dilated, and the blank expression paired with the wide eyes feels so unnatural on a person that Shuichi can’t help but turn away. He puts on his pair of nitrile gloves and lifts the head. There are no marks on the neck or scalp.

“It’s unfortunate that this is your first case. We don’t see serial murders often, but they’re probably one of the most unsettling to anyone who’s not a latent criminal,” Hoshi pipes up from behind him.

Shuichi jumps out of his skin before facing the enforcer and adding, “I received digital training for examinations, but this is… different,” his voice is almost a whisper by the end. Hoshi nods in agreement as Shuichi continues his inspection.

The back of the body has discolored to a dark purple with lividity, and blood is dried on the center of the spine. It seems like the stab wound from the front cut straight through. There’s more bruising around her ankles, suggesting she was bound there too at some point. There’s barely even a speck of blood on the cement beneath them, ensuring she, and the other women, were murdered elsewhere.

Shuichi’s about to stand up and record his findings when he notices a speck of black on the underside of the woman’s foot. He furrows his brows and rubs some of the powdery substance between his gloved fingers. _Charcoal?_

Shuichi inputs his observations into his wristcom for safekeeping.

His knees are a little weak as he stands to his feet. He pulls the gloves off and discards them in the drone, moving on to other parts of the park that the rest of the team has begun to investigate. 

Harukawa notices him as he nears her while looking at the ground for anything they missed. Harukawa’s leafing through the trash as she tells him, “the reports on the bodies have been sent into Kiibo. He will contact all of us with the results shortly.”

“Kiibo?” 

“He’s the Analyst for the MWPSB.” She then returns the trash to its container and speaks into her communication holo, “Nothing to note in the trash.”

Amami is examining the road by the park’s west entrance. He begins to make his way towards the other when he unceremoniously trips right onto the cement bricks. 

He hears Oma laughing at him from a distance. 

Slightly embarrassed, he blushes and pushes himself to his feet. He must’ve drawn Amami’s attention too, because the green-haired man is looking at him with amusement. “You okay?” the enforcer chuckles as he nears. 

Shuichi brushes it off and instead asks him, “are you looking for tire marks?”

“You’re pretty sharp Saihara. Yeah, I was, but it doesn’t look like there are any. The culprit must’ve not been in much of a rush…”

Shuichi nods and begins looking to see if there are more traces of charcoal anywhere. 

In his search he hears Amami sigh from beside him, “you probably noticed how I wasn’t too eager to get close to the bodies, despite me being labeled a latent criminal.”

Shuichi glances up at him.

He continues without an answer, “there was a similar murder a few years ago.” He looks up towards the sky, recalling it. “it’s the reason I’m here today. They flagged me as a latent criminal, said a hue _that_ cloudy had no chance of return.”

“...Is that so..?” he hesitates, his eyes wide.

Amami nods aloofly.

He wonders what the circumstances were surrounding the case, but he can’t just ask. He barely knows Amami, and it’s probably not information he’d want to bring up. 

He guesses that Amami can sense his discomfort, doubtlessly the reason that he drops the topic quickly. “Haha, sorry for the dreary subject. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Amami lets out a vaguely cynical, reminiscent chuckle before forcing a smile in his direction. 

There’s a moment of silence before Amami changes the subject. 

“Anyway, there’s still some of the park that hasn’t been covered. I’ll go check the other entrance,” Amami tells him as he starts moving towards the east entrance of the park.

Shuichi blinks a few times before getting back on task.

\--

“The wounds show that the weapon would’ve had to be thin and sword-like. It couldn’t have been the work of any average knife. The puncture was clean, suggesting no jagged edges. Also, the victims didn’t have any absolute ties aside from their area of residence. Each of the women came from the neighborhood you are all currently standing in. Hair follicles collected by the forensic bots indicate that they were most likely dragged to their positioning upon arrival. The reason for this is still unknown. The murders occurred around eighteen hours ago.”

“I’ve looked into likely suspects and found a total of three. News reports have records of a man, Haiji Towa, who was fired from his job last week, his boss being a woman. Furthermore, there could be ties to the recent murder of Masao Takata, courtesy of Mika Suzune who has been apprehended since then. However, further research has shown that the victim from that case had a fiancé, Shino Ruruhito; she might also have a vendetta against women similar to the one that murdered her significant other.”

“The last suspect is Toko Fukawa, a woman who has shown a cloudy psycho-pass on several occasions but was shown to have returned to normal by the time she was approached by law enforcement. She reportedly has been accused of stalking a man named Byakuya Togami, and she may have killed the women, as they were all clients at the Togami Corporation,” the robotic voice of Kiibo informs them over the communication holo. “The traffic cameras showed that the assailant had long hair, which rules out Ruruhito; she has short hair. I suggest that you interview the other two suspects as soon as possible.”

“Alright, you heard it straight from the Analyst. We gotta jump on this fast; we can’t let them dispose of any evidence,” Momota begins, “Saihara, you find Fukawa with Oma and Amami. Harukawa, Hoshi, and I will investigate Towa. We need to keep this low profile, so take the main cruiser. The van will risk us being spotted and the criminal fleeing. Keep the cruiser’s holos on unless you end up chasing down the suspect.”

“Ah, but how will you get to Towa Momota-kun?” as far as Shuichi knows, there is only one police cruiser with them.

“Don’t worry about it sidekick, the drones are already on their way with the other one.” Momota grins and gives him a thumbs up.

“Soooo, does this mean me and Amami-chan can welcome Saihara-chan with some good old hazing?” Oma inquires.

“You know as well as I do that we’re dogs for the bureau. Don’t fool around.” Hoshi’s the one to answer him, his lips pressed in a slight frown.

“O-kay, whatever you say!” Oma chirps before tugging Amami and Saihara’s sleeves towards the cruiser.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I have the first... arc? of the story pre-written, though only the second and first chapters have been beta-read so far, so I'll post one each week and then start writing the second arc. c: let me know if you like it! The plot will really start to take shape next chapter. :}


	2. Borderline

As Shuichi gets into the driver’s side, Oma’s already in the passenger’s seat, legs propped up on the dashboard and hands laced behind his head. Amami’s got a carefree smile on his face as he gets into the backseat of the vehicle. 

Just as the inspector finishes buckling his seatbelt - “Floor it Saihara-chan!” 

“I’m not going to do that Oma-kun.” Shuichi instead starts up the car and drives at the speed limit.

“Booooriiing, and here I thought you were gonna entertain me! Mmm, I guess I’ll have to think of a way you can make it up to me.” Oma fastens his own seatbelt after removing his legs from the dashboard and sitting as one normally does in a car. 

“Hmm…” Shuichi mumbles heedlessly. He’s not really paying attention to the enforcer, instead opting to keep his eyes on the road. He can’t help but feel a little nervous though - these people, though co-workers, are strangers to him. He isn’t sure how they’ll react in high-stress situations like apprehending a murderer. The logical side of him knows that they’ve been at the PSB longer than he has, and they must know what they’re doing. Regardless, that doesn’t stop another part of his brain from worrying that something will go wrong today. 

He bites his lip and tries to ignore the thoughts. The holo device displays the map directing the path to Toko Fukawa’s apartment. It’s in a relatively higher-crime area. They’ll have to be careful.

“What’cha think Saihara-chan’s thinking about Amami-chan?”

Amami chuckles. “How should I know?”

“Hmmm, I bet he’s thinking about dirty things. Why _else_ would he be so quiet?”

“N-no! I was just thinking…” Shuichi begins, “what if it _is_ Toko Fukawa?”

“Then we shoot her!” he cheers.

“Th-that’s not what I mean. We were told that her psycho-pass was normal whenever she was scanned. What if she has a way of maintaining her crime-coefficient so it doesn’t go over the limit?”

“ _Hmmm?_ Are you saying that the dominator won’t work?” Oma’s head is tilted to the side, but he seems... amused.

Shuichi shakes his head. “Not necessarily. What if _she_ can _evade_ Sibyl’s detection somehow.”

Oma’s grin goes wide, like he knows forbidden government secrets, “how do you think she would do that, Saihara-chan?”

The inspector notes how oddly phrased the question is. Usually, the question would be “how would she do that?” but Oma’s wording makes it seem like he already knows the answer. Shuichi gets the feeling that he’s just being toyed and taunted with. Either way, he doesn’t have an answer.

Oma continues, “and aren’t you just assuming that she’s our culprit?”

“Not at all. It could be the man Momota-kun and the others are investigating.”

“Hmm,” he presses his lips together, before giving a neutral smile. “What if it’s not him either? For all you know it could be a big, scary, bald guy.”

“You’re right.”

Amami raises an eyebrow. “He is?”

“It might not be either of them. In that case, we’ll need to find another suspect,” he supposes. Though, he doubts that it’s some big, scary, bald guy, as Oma put it. Their suspect was seen to have long hair, so the purple-haired enforcer can’t be serious. 

Oma leans back in his chair and looks at the ceiling of the car. The sly grin is still present on his face, as if it’s his resting expression. 

It’s quiet until Amami speaks up, “well, we can’t all go in. If it is her, then she’ll try to escape. I’ll stay outside and guard the exits. I’ll take a look and see if any weapons were hidden out there too.”

“Okay.” 

The rest of the ride is comprised of Oma telling him a _definitely_ false backstory, likely derived from some fictional series. If Shuichi had to decide who was the hardest to figure out among all the enforcers, it would probably be Oma. The others may be pretty stone-faced and unapproachable, but none of them are nearly as cryptic. Oma’s also clearly a pathological liar, which makes untangling the knots built around himself all the more difficult. 

The story is utterly ridiculous, and there’s no chance that Shuichi would believe it, so then, what is Oma’s purpose, telling such a blatant lie in the first place? It’s a mystery, so Shuichi will treat it like one; he’ll gather clues until he can solve it.

\--

They exit the car and Amami gets into position outside. He’s propped against the wall with his dominator in hand, ready to shoot when necessary. Shuichi and Oma stealthily make their way up the stairs. Toko lives on the seventh floor, nothing he can’t handle, but it is a lot of steps up. Oma knocks on the door, Shuichi behind him.

The door barely opens a crack, and sunken, baggy eyes dart up and down, taking in the appearance of the two. “Wh-what do you want?” The woman questions suspiciously. 

“Nee-heehee, we just need to ask you some questions!”

“I have n-nothing to say-” She begins shutting the door before Oma crams his foot in the opening.

“Ah, we won’t harm you, we just want to look at your crime-coefficient.” Shuichi attempts. They already know that this woman likely has a clear crime-coefficient, and she likely knows it as well, but seeing the inside of her apartment could be a vital clue. 

“F-fine.” She tells them, before stepping out of the door and slamming it behind her. _So much for looking inside..._

Shuichi is shaking slightly as he points the gun at the woman. _What if it says she’s a latent criminal? What if she needs to be executed?_ He hopes it doesn’t, but he knows he doesn’t get to make that decision. 

“Toko Fukawa,” the voice of Sibyl informs, “crime-coefficient below one-hundred, no action required.” Shuichi lets out a breath. It’s high for an under regulation reading, at ninety-four point five, but he won’t have to do anything drastic.” They still need to see the inside of the apartment, though.

“Looks like you’re all innocent!” Oma chirps. He grins deviously, “I wonder if you were planning on that.”

“Wh-what? What are you t-talking about?” she stammers. 

“It’s simple,” Oma continues, a hand on his hip, “you’re suspicious.”

The brunette recoils, “N-no I’m n-not!”

“Hmm, then you won’t mind if we take a look at the inside of your apartment, will you?”

She glares, and thinks it over before replying, “c-can I at least know what you th-think I did?”

Shuichi speaks up and answers her question, “you’re a suspect in the murder of nine women.”

Fukawa’s eyes widen, and then her eyebrows raise. “W-women?” With the response, Shuichi feels like she’s actually innocent. Unless she’s a professional liar, she doesn’t seem to know anything about the incident. But, it’s likely that she committed some other crime considering her nervous behavior. “Y-you can come in,” she tells them hesitantly before opening the door. She’s biting her nails as they enter the apartment. It’s incredibly messy. There are books and papers all over the furniture and floors. 

Shuichi looks around for any traces of glitter or charcoal, and he finds none. The closets lack weaponry and bloodied clothes. The only things that could be considered a weapon in the apartment are some kitchen knives, a razor, and a pair of scissors. The Analyst already determined the weapon was thin and sword-like, so they’ve nearly crossed Fukawa off of the suspect list. 

Kiibo had told them that the murders had happened eighteen hours before, presumably immediately prior to the women being transported to the scene. “Where were you between six pm last night to this morning?”

“H-huh?” She sits up tersely, going to rummage through one of her drawers. She takes out a piece of paper and hands it to Shuichi, Oma peering over his shoulder and looking at it. “I w-wasn’t here.”

Shuichi’s eyebrows raise, and he notes that it’s a ticket stub from a train. It departed from another city and arrived in town today at nine. She was out of town, and she proved it. “Ah, I see.” He knows better than to just take it at face value (It could be a forgery), so he contacts Kiibo and asks him to search the train footage for the time-slot in question. Kiibo does, and it checks out. Fukawa is not the killer. Shuichi thanks her and the two regroup with Amami.

\--

“So, she wasn’t the one…” Amami echos. 

“Nope! Saihara-chan and I searched the apartment! _But,_ she definitely killed _someone._ ”

“Huh!?” Shuichi recoils. “Why do you think that?”

“Nee-heehee,” his finger moves to the center of his grin as he explains, “you can figure it out mister detective.” 

Shuichi gives a questioning look at the nickname but ponders the matter. Something Fukawa said was strange, but then again, she was acting strange in general. She was guarded the whole time but was more cooperative once - _that’s it!"_ Once I mentioned that the victims were women, she cooperated right away.”

“Bingo!”

“Wait, if she really did kill someone else, shouldn’t we arrest her?”

“Ah-ah-ah, her crime-coefficient was under regulation.”

Shuichi brings a hand to his chin. “I see.” He frowns.

“Let’s get back to headquarters and meet up with the rest of the team,” Amami suggests.

Shuichi wills the frown away and nods, seating himself in the cruiser and shutting the door. 

\--

“This makes no sense!” Momota slams his hands down on the work surface. “Both of the suspects are completely clear!”

“Are suspects ever really clear?” Hoshi’s beginning to get slightly philosophical.

“Calm down. You’re only making it worse for yourself,” Harukawa inputs.

Oma puts his hands behind his head. “Hmm, too bad I couldn’t find any of that sparkly crap anywhere else.”

Shuichi hears the sentence and it takes a moment to realize that what Oma said is very important. He gasps. “Oma-kun!” 

“Saihara-chan!” Oma mimics before Shuichi can continue with his statement.

Shuichi narrows his eyes at the photos of the victims on the desk. “There were sparkles on the body I looked at too. Until now, I thought she must’ve been wearing glittery clothing, but that can’t be it.”

“Actually, gold glitter was found on each of the bodies. There were also traces of excess salt on three of the victims’ skins.” Kiibo chimes in. 

Shuichi isn’t exactly sure Kiibo’s human; no, he’s actually almost positive that he isn’t. His eyes and skin are definitely made of metal, and even though his voice sounds completely human aside from his semi-robotic speech patterns, there’s no way he’s fully human, if at all. The rookie inspector isn’t sure if he’s some form of artificial intelligence, or if he used to be a human, but it isn’t likely that he’ll find out. He doesn’t want to be rude and ask him. 

Momota’s eyes widen, “fuck, Kiibo, why didn’t you say so earlier!” 

“My apologies, I did not believe it had anything to do with possible suspects.”

“It doesn’t,” Shuichi explains, “but it does mean that each of them was near something gold and glittery. The glitter I found was only near the stab wound, meaning it probably came from the weapon itself.” 

“ _Oh_ , how interesting.” Oma grins with childish delight.

“Haha, you sure seem like a detective Saihara,” Amami remarks.

“A-ah,” he stammers.

“Well, what kinda weapon is gold and sparkly?” Momota grunts.

“I… don’t know,” Shuichi admits.

“Huh? All that build-up for nothing? Boooriing!”

“A weapon like that must’ve been for decorative purposes only,” Harukawa informs them, “there is no way gold glitter would be used in a functional weapon. It wouldn’t be stealthy, and if it left behind evidence of itself, it wouldn’t be very well made.” 

“I forgot you knew so much about weapons Harukawa,” Hoshi admits.

“Hmph.” The brunette crosses her arms, looking away.

“But if the killer used a decorative weapon, then why is the stab wound so clean?” Amami questions aloud.

“What do you mean?” Momota’s brows scrunch up. 

Amami elaborates, “well, we have someone who somehow knew that one slice through the chest would effectively kill the victims. If the killer knows that much, then why were they using some decorative sword like an amateur?”

There's another thing that doesn't add up, and Hoshi addresses it, “people that go looking for revenge don't only stab their victims once.”

It's true. Murders out of revenge are emotion-filled; the wounds tend to be excessive if carried out with a knife. Shuichi feels like his brain is desperately trying to find a connection that he can feel right there, but can't visibly see. He's staring hard at the photos, all scattered face-up on the desktop. Nothing seems abnormal about them, but-

“Hey, Kiibo,” Amami breaks the concentrated silence. 

Kiibo tilts his head and answers expectantly, “yes?”

“Can you find some aerial shots of the park before the murder?” Based on Amami’s question, Shuichi isn’t the only one wondering about this.

Kiibo nods and starts typing away onto the large set of monitors looming over the single desk in the room. It’s the analyst’s hub, he supposes. “Oh I get it. We can use those to compare and look for differences,” Momota realizes aloud. 

“Good job stating the obvious Momota-chan! _Do you want a prize?_ ” Oma tilts his head with falsified innocence.

“Shut up!” The screeching of chair legs against the ground as Momota jumps to his feet is almost as loud as the sound of his palms slamming flat against the desk.

“I have obtained the photo you asked for Amami-kun!” Kiibo interjects, placing the photo beside the crime scene one.

There’s a glaring difference in the photos.

“Nee-heehee!”

A perfect circle of bricks around the center of the park are darker than they were before. 

“Huh? Did they replace the bricks or something? Momota wonders.

Shuichi can’t help himself from blurting out, “no, that’s wrong!” 

More than half of the group’s eyebrows raise, causing Shuichi’s confidence to recede slightly.

Still, he explains, “they’re not different bricks at all. They’re definitely the same bricks that were there before.”

“How could you be so sure?” Harukawa interrogates.

“There are a number of reasons, actually.” He pauses. “First, there’s a distinct crack through the brick right there,” he points to the photo of the park center prior to the crime, continuing, “and it’s also in the other picture, but it’s facing the opposite way.” He places his other index finger on the darker, mirrored, brick. “I also noticed something strange earlier. I tripped when we were investigating-”

“Hmm,” Oma hums with more false innocence, “ _wanna know what I think?_ ” He leans forward, smiling almost teasingly. “Sounds to _me_ like you’re just trying to make excuses to make yourself look better.” 

“No, that’s not it,” Shuichi insists, “if the bricks were flipped upside down, then it’s possible that for a few of the bricks, one side was not level with the other. It would explain the uneven ground. And, it also explains why they’re a darker color, and not a closer match to the rest; the rest of the bricks are so light because they’ve been directly in the sun, but the bottoms of the bricks haven’t, so it only makes sense that they would be darker.” He finishes, his brow furrowed in determination.

They’re mostly silent for a moment, before Momota’s resolve strengthens again. “Well, I guess that means we gotta go back and take a look at those bricks. We know they weren’t flipped over for no reason.”

They all nod or voice their agreement and begin towards the exit. As they walk through the building, Shuichi almost feels like he’s being observed; he feels like some human subject under the scrutinization of a fascinated scientist… He tries to ignore it.

\--

“Looks like you were right Saihara!” Momota congratulates him with a pat on the back. It’s not as intensity-fueled as the previous, and Shuichi’s thankful for that. The bricks were flipped over, but their hidden side reveals something none of them really expected. 

It’s harder to see in the street-lamp lit darkness of the park, but the strange, dark, characters on each and every one of the bricks are impossible to miss. It’s another language - Shuichi can’t tell which one - but it carries all the way along the circumference of the park’s center circle. The cadavers have been removed by this point; they were on the inside of the hidden circle, formerly. The blue-haired inspector’s lack of recognition regarding the language doesn’t change the fact that the positioning and the arrangement of the bodies, and the circular formation of ancient letters and shapes, are altogether very… ritual-like. 

Revenge isn’t the motive. The discernment changes everything about the suspects of the case. All they have to do now is find out the purpose of this ritual, and that should lead them in the right direction - towards the true culprit. 

The foreign writings are not the only discovery either; it’s also clear that they were each drawn with charcoal. Shuichi can only conclude that those writings aren’t the only ones. Wherever the killer’s hiding, there’ve got to be more. The charcoal on the woman’s foot wasn’t smeared, it _would’ve_ been smeared if she was dragged through it, but instead, it was pressed into the sole of her foot. This leaves Shuichi with one option; she stepped on it _before_ she was killed. 

They weren’t killed at the scene. There wasn’t enough blood for that to be true. The killer had to have written in another place with charcoal, and as hard as it is to think about, unless they were practicing the ritualistic markings, they likely tried something similar before. It might’ve gone under the radar, though, due to the lack of public location. 

And Shuichi thinks, maybe they’ll try it again. They all have to be prepared for that possibility.

\--

“Coffee?” Amami asks the group from the cafeteria’s coffee counter. The rest of them are seated at a table discussing what they’ve found. It’s been a while since they got back to headquarters with new leads to chase. They’ve been at work for hours, and there’s a chance none of them will make it home tonight. Shuichi hasn’t pulled an all-nighter since his senior year in Secondary School, cramming for exams; he won’t be able to do it without the assistance of caffeine. 

So, he nods. “I’ll have one.”

“Yeah, me too,” Momota shouts.

“Fine.”

“I’ll have mine black,” Hoshi tells him.

“Mind getting me a Panta while you’re over there Amami-chan?” Oma calls out with a hyper looking grin. 

“No problem,” Amami responds as the telltale drip of coffee fills the air. He reaches into the fridge and tosses Oma a half-liter soda. 

There's a slight fizzing sound when Oma twists the top. He opens the cap after the fizz lowers and downs it all in a single, long sip. 

“How much sugar and milk for the rest of you guys?” Amami calls as he pours the coffee into cups.

Harukawa speaks, “I'll take mine black as well.”

“Just a small amount of milk is fine…” Shuichi says quietly. 

Amami glances at Momota.

Momota clears his throat. “Uh, three sugars and enough milk to make it not taste like shit.”

“Haha, no problem.” Amami chuckles, turning back towards the coffee. 

“I'll help you Amami-chan!” Oma announces before bouncing over to Amami.

Sugar packets are torn open as the rest of them continue to converse about the case. Kiibo is back in the other room scouring databases for different ancient rituals and their purposes.

Shuichi hears a muffled “Oma, what-” and witnesses Oma stuff a bunch of napkins in Amami’s face and bring the cardboard cup carrier over with the four cups of coffee inside. 

“Here ya go!”

Amami just raises an eyebrow at Oma and makes his way back to the table with his own cup in hand. 

“Here’s Hoshi-chan and Harumaki’s,” he beams, taking out the two black coffees and placing them on the table in front of the two. 

Harukawa glares at the nickname.

“Here’s yours Momota-chan,” he continues, placing the lightest coffee in front of Momota, “and here’s yours, Saihara-chan!” He hands Saihara the last cup. 

Momota gets them back on track, “ok, so we know that this “ritual” needs nine people and that it doesn't originate in Japan.” He lets the group mull over the information while he takes a sip of coffee.

Oma visibly smirks.

“Ahhhhh!” Momota yells, rushing towards the coffee counter. He grabs a handful of those plastic milk cups and struggles to open them. “You little fucker!” He roars after downing one of the small servings.

“Nee-heehee!” Oma clutches his stomach and arches back in his chair.

Momota abandons the milk cups and heads to the freezer, sticking his face in and filling his mouth with ice. “C’mere y’ lil’ s‘hit!” He charges towards Oma, his mouth still full of ice.

Oma hops out of the chair and runs around the table; Momota chases him, spurred on by fury.

“ _What did you do?_ ” Harukawa’s eyes narrow at the Panta-drinker, grabbing him by his scarf and halting his movements.

“Nee-heeheehee! I just added a special ingredient to Momota’s coffee! He should be thanking me for my thoughtfulness.”

“Special… ingredient?” Shuichi repeats.

Momota spits the rest of the unmelted ice into his coffee cup. “Fucker! The shit added hot sauce to my fucking coffee!”

“Ahahhahahha! That wasn't me! It was a ghost! Or maybe that's a lie…”

“Fucking ‘course it's a lie!”

“You got me! It was really me all along!”

Harukawa gives him a warning glare and releases him. She crosses her arms and glances sideways. “Next time, I won't be so lenient.”

Hoshi quietly remarks, “I've had worse things in my coffee.”

Shuichi’s eyebrows shoot up.

Momota glares at Oma as he sits back down. With a huff, he continues, “ _as I was saying,_ ” he leans forward in his seat, “this “ritual” didn’t come from Japan.”

Amami nods and adds, “if we don't know the purpose of it, then it's probably not common knowledge.“

Momota strokes his goatee. “We’ll need to look into suspects with a background in subjects like anthropology and the occult.”

“Anthropology huh…” Hoshi contemplates.

Momota snaps his fingers. “What if the perpetrator’s a historian or something?”

“Historian? Where would they work?” Amami asks him.

Momota shrugs. “I dunno, a school?”

Oma claps his hands together. “Wow how cool! A serial killer working with a bunch of kids!”

“Well, then maybe a museum.” Momota offers. _A museum, huh..._

“They might also be a journalist, or a librarian,” proposes Hoshi. _Someone working at a museum would definitely know about ancient cultures._

Amami gives a skeptical expression, “Do libraries still exist?” _And,_ Shuichi thinks, _there’s the weapon too..._

 _It’s got to be connected._ “I agree with that!”

“Saihara-chan, we already established that libraries don't exist,” Oma tuts.

“Ah, sorry, I meant about the museum.”

“Hmm… why do you think that Saihara?” Hoshi leans his chin on his hand.

“Well, it's because of the weapon.”

Harukawa’s eyebrows raise slightly. “I see. This is about the glitter, isn't it?”

“Yeah, that's right,” he confirms.

Harukawa continues, “decorative weapons are found all the time in museums. Museum workers must have access to them to keep them dust-free for viewers.”

“I've been to a museum as a kid.” The other inspector’s eyes crinkle as he smiles fondly. “I'd stay in the space exhibit for hours,” Momota reminisces. “Hey, do you think they could be a tour guide? Those people always know lots of information about history and cultures.”

“It’s possible.” Hoshi nods slowly.

Harukawa grabs onto her right pigtail. “However, we shouldn’t rule out the other possibilities,” she advises.

“Of course,” Momota swiftly inputs his eager agreement, making eye contact. 

Harukawa looks away.

Shuichi inputs another possibility that comes to mind, “the perpetrator could’ve gotten the sword from a novelty store too… I’ve seen shops with merchandise based on different movies and games, so maybe that’s where it came from.”

Oma tilts his head. “Hmmmm? You mean like a nerd shop?”

“I don’t know if I’d call it that…” Shuichi fidgets.

“It makes sense. The occult is a common theme in shops like those,” Hoshi agrees.

Amami speaks up after a moment of silence, “well, the only other place mentioned that a fake glittery weapon would be found is probably a school.” 

“Why would there be a weapon like that in a school?” The shortest enforcer inquires.

“I guess, students show and tell..? Or, maybe as a martial arts decoration or trophy.”

“That sounds a bit far-fetched,” Hoshi disagrees.

“You think so? Aha, maybe you’re right.” Amami’s eyes crinkle and he scratches the back of his neck with a sheepish smile.

“No way! Schools always have tons of fun weapons to-” Oma begins what is surely another lie, when Kiibo pushes open the door to the cafeteria. The lot of them glance towards the sound.

“I’ve figured out the purpose of the ritual!” He stands before them valiantly, hands perched on his hips.

“Well, don’t just stand there! Tell us!” Momota commands.

“Oh, right!” Kiibo dusts off his metal chest plate. “The ritual originated in Persia, and although all the writing can’t be translated, I was able to take this phrase from it and decode it.” He walks towards the table and presses a button on his body, causing a piece of paper to print out of his mouth. 

He hands the piece of paper to Momota, and everyone crowds around him, looking over his shoulder. The paper has some more of those foreign characters written on it, “برای آوردن مرده به زندگی”

“It roughly translates to, ‘to revitalize the dead’.”

Their eyes widen.

Shuichi is the first to say something, “...are you saying… they’re trying to bring the dead back to life?”

“Yes,” Kiibo smiles pridefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m naming all the chapters after songs from either the Psycho-Pass soundtrack, or any of the Danganronpa soundtracks c: c:
> 
> P.S. none of you will ever guess where I got the translation from because I do not know the language and my source was very unconventional lol


	3. Obsession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is un-beta-ed so sorry if any of it is wordy! Thanks for reading!

It’s only a few seconds after the group leaves the cafeteria that Momota silently pulls him aside, letting the rest of the group walk ahead of them without notice. Momota’s eyes trail after the enforcers as they walk away, waiting until they’re out of earshot. 

Then, he speaks up, “hey, I said I’d talk to you about Oma later, and I’m not gonna go back on my word.”

“Ah,” Shuichi had forgotten about Momota’s “I’ll tell you later” between the chaos of the case, and the sleep deprivation beginning to edge into his mind despite the coffee. 

Without prompting, he continues, making a few hand gestures alongside his words, ”thing is, he’s a special case… an enforcer that doesn’t show up as a latent criminal.”

Shuichi didn’t know what he was expecting to hear about the enforcer, but it wasn’t _that_. “Huh?!” _How is he a latent criminal then?_

He chuckles mirthlessly. “Surprised? Heh, I was too when I first aimed at him…” he trails off, before pointing a finger at Shuichi with a very serious face, “Don't let that fool you, he's still a latent criminal.”

Shuichi starts to connect the dots. “That must be why he seemed to know something I didn’t when talking about whether Fukawa had a method of evading Sibyl’s judgement.”

“Yeah, but do you know why?”

”I… have no clue,” he admits.

“He may seem slate clean now, but when it really matters, the dominator will catch it,” Momota assures him.

“What do you mean?”

“The kid’s strange…” He loses eye contact, as if recalling a memory. “He’s usually just an annoying fucker, but something in him changes- _snaps_. I’ve seen him go from a stress level of 60 to 600 in the blink of an eye. Okay, well maybe not 600, but you get the point.

Shuichi nods.

“He hasn’t done anything too crazy yet, so no one’s pulled the trigger. It’s like he becomes a different person for a short amount of time. That’s when he’s most useful to the inspectors, even though the higher-ups and chief Shirogane won’t admit it. He can ruthlessly dispose of the criminals when that happens, and man is he fast.”

Despite being told all of this, Shuichi can’t imagine it. He knows Momota isn’t lying to him, but what he’s seen of Oma so far doesn’t paint him as someone who “ruthlessly disposes” of others. Still, he nods, and the two slip back into the rest of the group a few steps before they reach their destination. 

\--

The next step they have to take is a pretty big one. Each of them is facing a monitor, finding all the recorded deaths within the past month. The worst part is that it might end up being a dead-end; they don't know whether or not the death that spurred these killings was even noticed or documented in public records. Anything is helpful at this point - first-hand accounts, obituaries, morgue records, missing persons, news articles - 

they could find the truth through any one of these. 

It’s a lot to narrow down considering they don’t know what age, name, or cause of death they’re looking for. 

It takes a while, but they can eventually settle on a total of fifty-three death reports in the area, all belonging to women. They’re able to rule out the women who’s relatives and friends either received therapy after the deaths, or have been scanned as clear by the street scanners since then. It leaves them with a much more narrow set of possibilities. Soon, there are only two women who might be the catalyst for the crime. 

“Well,” Momota claps his hands together, “the places we can go to investigate are closed by now, so get some sleep. We’ve been at work for fourteen hours, and we’re not gonna be able to catch this killer if we don’t rest.” 

Shuichi is hesitant to stop, now that the truth is almost close enough to grasp, but Momota is right. They’re not going to be able to work efficiently if they don’t take a break. 

He sits up from his chair and makes his way out as all the enforcers lean back in their chairs but otherwise stay put. He tilts his head, “aren’t you guys coming?” 

“We’re enforcers.” Harukawa reiterates.

That doesn’t answer his question.

“Ohh, could it be that Saihara-chan doesn’t know?” Oma asks, ending with an involuntary yawn.

“What don’t I know?” The inspector raises an eyebrow. 

“Enforcers aren’t allowed to leave. We’re dangerous! Or, at least, Harumaki is,” Oma snickers. 

“Huh? Where do you go to sleep?” Shuichi wonders aloud.

“Is Saihara-chan really that oblivious?” Oma questions, tilting his head comically.

“We have rooms here.” Amami tells him, “If we set foot out of here we’ll be locked in the nearest isolation prison…”

Shuichi frowns. “But wouldn’t that make this place a prison too?”

Amami chuckles humorlessly, “yeah, but it’s a nicer one.”

“Awwwh, do you feel bad for us Saihara-chan?” Oma goads. 

He responds by looking away, holding onto his arm. 

“Well, g’night Mister Detective! See ya in a few hours!” Oma chirps, grabbing and shaking Shuichi’s hand and then walking to the elevators. 

Shuichi watches him go and turns back to the other three, offering them a quick, “goodnight,” before walking down the hall. 

_That doesn’t seem very fair_ , Shuichi thinks as he watches the floor of Oma’s elevator rise. He sighs before getting in the other elevator, pressing “ground floor”.

\--

Novo-Relics is the only occult shop with workers that fit the profile. According to the databases, a young woman by the name of Taeko Yasuhiro worked at the business up until her death, which was nine days ago. The cause of death was accidental, a fire that she was not able to escape from, occurring in her home. If they’re lucky, then one of Yasuhiro’s coworkers was close enough to her to want to bring her back to life; if they’re lucky, the perpetrator will be here and they won’t have to look anywhere else.

One after the other, division one enters the door quickly, a little bell jingling to make their presence known. A woman with very light, blonde hair is at the register, smiling sweetly. “Greetings! How may I help you?” Her demeanor is shockingly elegant for such a dark and dreary place.

Momota is the one to march right up to the front counter and ask outright, “what can you tell us about Taeko Yasuhiro?”

The girl adopts an expression that makes her look completely out of her element. “My apologies, I do not know whom you speak of.” The denial of the deceased girl’s existence is suspicious, to say the least. 

“Well then how do you explain her working here for three years?!” Momota yells, “she had to have worked here less than two weeks ago!”

“Three… years?” The cashier seems to be very deep in thought. “Wait just a moment!” she exclaims, “though I am still not familiar with any person by the name of Taeko Yasuhiro, are you maybe thinking of Celestia Ludenberg..?” 

“Celestia...what?” Momota’s got a very puzzled look on his face. 

“If you are looking for Celestia, I have tragic news!” she announces, “Celestia is no longer with us! I am very distraught to say that she was caught in a fire, and did not make it out.” 

“That’s Yasuhiro!”

“It must be a fake name,” Hoshi mumbles from below. 

Oma pushes Momota aside. “We knooow that she’s dead, we aren’t asking about _that,_ ” he emphasizes. “We really want to know allllll about the occult!”

The blonde’s eyes sparkle as she claps her hands together. “Oh yes! I shall tell you anything you wish to know! Would you like to hear about vampires? Demons? Summoning ghosts? Perhaps I could tell you about ancient Japanese legends such as Sparkling Justice!”

“ _Mmmm_ , no. But that does sound super interesting! What we’re really looking for is info on dark rituals y’know?”

“Oh! I know just who you may ask!” she beams, peering around one of the far shelves, “Gundham, we have many customers who would like to know all about the dark arts!”

A strange-looking man approaches; live rodents rest on his shoulders and peer out of his long scarf and the pockets in his jacket. “Welcome mortals, for it is I, Gundham Tanaka!” he guffaws, “what lore is it that you deadly six seek?” His single streak of silver hair shines in the low light of the occult shop.

Shuichi is wondering how these people make it past the scanners without getting detected. He supposes that maybe they’re completely normal aside from their… unusual passion for the occult. Unless, of course, one of them is the perpetrator they’ve set out to catch.

Oma steeples his fingers together, grinning and as sinister as ever when he says, “Necromancy.”

\--

“Aw man, I can’t believe they only knew about Japanese rituals…” Oma whines as the six of them exit the shop. 

They pass some weird merchandise like fake skulls displayed in the store’s window when Oma, self-appointed leader of their group for now, suddenly stops. Momota, Harukawa, and Amami keep walking along. The enforcer quickly masks his hesitation and keeps walking, Hoshi glances in the window but seemingly finds nothing of interest and does the same.

Shuichi stops for a moment, and really takes a look into the window as the others’ voices get farther and farther away. Next to the decorative skulls and some tarot cards is a… teddy bear - black and white, split down the middle, with one circular, button eye and one menacing, red eye. _Why did this make Oma stop so suddenly?_ Shuichi is stuck wondering, his hand to his chin. 

“Saihara! What are ya doing all the way back there? Come on! We gotta go find the last suspect,” he gestures to Saihara and he follows. Momota turns to Harukawa and remarks, “this guy’s the one for sure. I can feel it,” and Shuichi quickly forgets about the insignificant bear, back to the task at hand. 

Shuichi would not know just how significant it would become in the months ahead.

\--

“Korekiyo Shinguji. He’s been a curator at this museum for quite a few years,” says the older man at the front desk of the museum. 

“When was the last time you saw him?” Harukawa questions.

The man scratches his beard. “Let me think… he hasn’t shown up for work lately, but I don’t blame him. I heard his sister passed away from some terminal illness… so, that would make it… about three weeks since I last saw him.”

“Has anything from the museum gone missing lately?”

“Now that you mention it, one of the katanas - a real shiny antique-like one, went missing a few days ago, but the next day it was right back where it was before, so I didn’t think anything of it. A new piece was donated, so I moved it into storage yesterday. I haven’t checked to see if it’s still there though - didn’t think it might go missing again, so my guess is as good as yours. I would’ve called someone if it was one of the pricey pieces, but it was just some cheap one. The gold plating was flaking off everywhere when we moved exhibits.”

“Gold…plating..?” Shuichi murmurs. 

“It’s gotta be him.” Momota comments and the rest of them set out to track their final suspect down.

“So what’s this all about? Is Shinguji in some sort of trouble?” The worker asks. 

“Sorry, that’s confidential.” Amami smiles sheepishly. “Thanks for the help though!” he calls as he follows the others. 

\--

“Here’s the plan guys. If there are any hostages, they are _first priority_. We don’t need more people’s psycho-passes getting cloudy. We get in there, we isolate him from any others, and we shoot him with the dominator.”

They all nod briskly. Shuichi knows they can’t mess this up. This person is dangerous to society and themselves. Still, _he doesn’t want to kill anyone,_ not even a murderer. 

\--

The apartment of Korekiyo Shinguji is in a pretty rundown part of town. They make their way inside carefully and on-guard. The entryway’s lights are flickering and the tiled floor is dirty and broken, it almost looks abandoned, save for the voices of some arguing neighbors. The scanners are farther and fewer in this area, so it makes sense that they would be less likely to flag their suspect. 

According to their information, Shinguji’s apartment is on the second floor, plate number 204. They start off by knocking, dominators ready, when they hear a muffled crying coming from inside. Momota orders the PSB drone behind them to break down the door, and the crying becomes louder. 

They have to stay on guard. Shinguji could be hiding around any corner, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to charge towards the crying. They take a look around.

“Kitchen’s clear.” Harukawa remarks to the others, as she returns through the arch of the tiny living area. 

“No one’s in the coat closet,” Amami says, looking towards the others as they enter.

“Bathroom’s empty too,” Hoshi adds.

“That just leaves the bedroom.” Shuichi points down the thin hallway at the door. The crying is definitely coming from inside that room.

“Let’s go,” Momota tells them, gun ready.

He kicks open the bedroom door.

 _It’s empty._ But that doesn’t stop their eyes from noticing the abundant amounts of… evidence. More charcoal writings litter the wall along with others written in a deep red. Books in various ancient languages are opened all over the bedspread, white linen sheets tinted yellow from the poor air quality like teeth gone unbrushed. There are sticks of chalk and charcoal on the floor, smeared into the carpet, and there’s a bucket full of something grainy and white next to the night table. _Salt_ , Shuichi’s mind supplies. He takes a look under the bed, and it’s got a few pieces of clothing strewn about, but that’s it. Without even seeing the curator, they know, without a doubt, that he’s their killer. 

Harukawa forces the locked closet open and none of them are very shocked to see someone inside. 

Except, there are three girls, all around their age, their mouths taped shut and their hands tied behind their backs. Shuichi can’t stop the grimace of disgust that appears on his face on seeing the horribly treated state that the women are in. Hoshi’s still guarding the door, in case the culprit returns to the scene of the crime. 

Within the next second, Harukawa’s dominator is aimed at the live victims.

“W-what are you doing?” Shuichi’s eyes widen as their threat level is appraised. 

“Harumaki! That’s no way to treat victims silly!” Oma scolds, and Shuichi supposes the enforcer is given an opening when Harukawa lowers her gun to glare at him.

Shuichi watches as Oma just walks over calmly and seemingly procures a knife out of nowhere, cutting the bindings. The women flinch back, but are released. Shuichi sighs in relief, but he’s still on high alert. Harukawa’s got her dominator aimed again, but as she clicks the trigger, it locks. Oma’s just walking up to Harukawa as if a weapon isn’t being pointed straight at him. He grips the barrel of the gun, the knife hanging loosely in his other hand. “Nee-heehee! There’s no need to shoot me Harukawa-chan.”

And in the next second her dominator is on the floor and Oma is being held against the charcoal and blood-covered walls by his neck.

“ _So now you’re gonna kill me? Go ahead._ ” Oma chokes out through his crushed airways. Harukawa glares harder.

Shuichi’s heart is racing, but he doesn’t know what to do. The victims haven’t moved from their spot in the closet despite having the ropes around their wrists cut, and they seem completely terrified. Shuichi doubts that their hues will ever return to normal.

“Harumaki! Don’t do it! He’s not worth it.” Momota calls out.

Shuichi’s positive that the reason no one is aiming their dominators right now is that Harukawa’s surely cloudy enough to execute, at this point. The hairs on his arms are standing up, and it’s not because it’s cold. 

“Do it. _I dare you._ ”

The rookie stares at Oma’s face and realizes something very odd. There’s no _fear_. It’s almost like Oma _wants_ to die. 

“ _He deserves it._ ” Oma gasps out and grins. 

_Who deserves it?_ Shuichi thinks.

“Maki!” Momota pushes her as hard as he can, and it seems like it’s barely a nudge, but it does the trick. Oma crumples to the floor, still grinning.

Shuichi takes the opportunity to go near the witnesses, “we work for the MWPSB,” he tells them, “we came here to save you.” Their fearful crying and shaking softens, just a little bit. 

“Oma. What the hell was that?!” Momota yells. 

Amami fakes a smile and offers a hand to the girls. “C’mon. No need to stick around here. It’s a good thing that you three are safe. I’m sure your families and friends will be happy to know you’re okay.”

Shuichi is speechless as Amami takes the girls out of the room, Hoshi following.

“Nishishi. _Wouldn’t you like to know?_ ” Oma’s laughs, before his grin disappears.

Momota scowls. “Let’s just go. We have a serial killer to catch.” He and Harukawa walk towards the door.

The younger inspector kneels beside the mysterious enforcer. “Oma-kun…” Shuichi hesitates, “...are you alright?” 

“Auggghh,” Oma groans out, “Saihara-chan? Did I get shot?”

Shuichi’s eyebrows crease. “Oma-kun?” _Did he get shot? Is he lying again?_

Oma stares into his face for a second before his face goes blank. His grin soon returns, “Nee-heehee! That’s a lie; a supreme leader like me would never let himself get shot!”

That just makes Shuichi more worried, but he doesn’t know what to do about it. “We should… get back to the others.” He can talk to Oma about it later. 

“Okie dokie Mister Detective!” Oma chirps, bopping him on the nose before scurrying out of the room.

Shuichi blinks. 

He shakes himself out of his momentary stupor and looks back towards the ground. Harukawa must’ve picked up her dominator when he wasn’t looking at her. The knife is on the ground; it must’ve fallen out of Oma’s hand. _Where and when did he get that?_

He feels a chill at seeing so many symbols and shapes, written in what must be blood, on the poorly lit walls. _Who would do something like this?_ He doesn’t really understand it, but he wonders if the enforcers do. Momota had said that they can think like a criminal. He wonders if that’s true. 

He glances towards the open books and notices a white paper among all of the yellowish, age-stained book pages. Stepping closer, it turns out to be an envelope. The only words written on the outside of it is, _“To my dear sister”._ Shuichi takes it with him.

\--

_Dearest Kireishi,_

_From the beginning, we were never ordinary. I always believed you were one of the angels I’d read about in fairytales as a child. As the years continued I became more and more captivated by your eternal beauty. Even when you weren’t looking, I was allured, lost in my endless thoughts of you. You awakened a desire that was unknown to me._

_I lay beside you as you grew sicker and sicker, the life draining from your body. I only felt despair. I watched as you drew your last, whispering breath. In that moment you were still and beautiful like a doll. Your skin was like porcelain, your eyes like glass. It was then that I made my decision; I wouldn’t let you go that easily._

_You, my treasure, my sister, are akin to a goddess, blinding me with your beauty. This world is twisted, they wouldn’t understand our unspeakable bond, but I know that we were fated to be together. Nothing else can describe the way I feel about you._

_And soon, we will be reunited. Once I’ve offered enough pure souls worthy to match yours, you will be returned to me. It’s where you belong, and I know we will be happy._

_No one has to know. I will take you far away from here._

_With utmost sincerity, your dearest brother_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eheheh, idk if the note to sister is creepy enough, but I was kinda going for an unsettling vibe (can’t tell if I succeeded). I felt like the comparison to a doll was pretty creepy, but who knows? I couldn’t find any fan-chosen names for Shinguji’s sister, no matter how much I searched, so I made up the name Kireishi. Dunno why; it’s probably not a legit Japanese name either, but I have limited knowledge and creativity, so Kireishi Shinguji it is.
> 
> Oh! Here’s a fun little fact. I decided to name Sonia and Gundham’s Occult shop Novo-Relics because I wanted to make a reference to canon Sonia - hence why it sounds like Novoselic, but also because the prefix novo means new, and relics are old and historical objects and I reeeeeally like contradictory names like that because the place is old occult history/books/items and new occult merchandise, and it can additionally kinda refer to history happening as events unfold in the present, and- I’m getting too fixated on this haha, so I’m gonna halt it here, and hope you enjoyed reading!


	4. Beautiful Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ngl i forgot this existed for a few days, but here's the update (a few days late..) (un-beta-ed again rip)

Shuichi joins the others as they huddle outside the apartment. Amami is leading the girls towards one of the cruisers, helping them settle down. Shuichi notices Oma’s following not too far behind him. 

Momota’s already talking. “We know that the culprit is definitely gonna try this again, but we don’t know when. He’s looking for women. He needs eight of them at a time, and based on the victims’ profiles, they’re all relatively normal citizens.”

“Ah, Momota-kun, I found this letter in the bedroom,” Shuichi speaks up and hands him the envelope. 

“Saihara! My sidekick! Good eye!” Momota unfolds the letter and skims over the contents; his eyes widen and his mouth opens, as if unbelieving of the words he is reading. He clears his throat. “Wh-what the hell is this?!” 

“What is it?” Harukawa interrogates. Without vacillation, Momota answers her question by passing the letter along. The newest inspector sees her eyes widen as well. 

His curiosity about the letter is mollified once she tilts the letter towards him so he can read it too. Shuichi’s startled and disturbed to realize that it’s a love letter. It’s far more twisted though, and talks about the two of them (brother and sister) reuniting on Earth. He coughs awkwardly when Hoshi gives them a questioning look, and passes the letter to him too.

Korekiyo Shinguji wasn’t just some ordinary citizen overcome with grief at the loss of a family member… it was far worse than that. Shuichi can easily conclude that Shinguji was and still is obsessed with his sister, even after death.

“We gotta find this guy, fast,” Momota affirms, the three of them catching up with the others near the cruisers.

\--

“We need to set up a situation where the murderer can get ready to kill another girl without there being a risk of another death,” Momota declares, “now, we can’t just wait for Shinguji to come back to his apartment, because if we do that then he’ll have another victim, who could end up in danger once he realizes we’re after him.”

“I see.” Hoshi agrees, “so we’ll need to track him down and lure him in without getting any other citizens involved.”

“But how do we do that?” Shuichi inquires, trying to think of something - anything. 

“I’m not sure. Kiibo’s checking the street cams to pinpoint his location… but, Shinguji’s looking for more victims, so he’s got to be in a public area.”

“Hmm, that’s true,” Amami theorizes, “if we tail him, we might be able to go undercover and stall him, so he can’t come into contact with another victim.”

“Hmph, there’s no way we’d be able to do that without him becoming suspicious of us, and if he thinks someone is onto him, he might endanger more lives,” Harukawa amends.

Momota nods. “We know Shinguji is unstable, and if he’s backed into a corner, he’s sure to lash out. Now, if we could back him into a corner where any lashing out would be contained and away from the public, then it would be fine, but we have  _ no way _ to draw him out.”

“Weeeell, looks like there’s one solution!” Oma’s finger is at his lips, plotting deviously. 

“What the fuck are you on about?”

“Nee-heehee, I’m talking about bait, Momota-chan.”

“And who would-” Momota begins.

“Oh I see where you’re going with this.” Amami thinks aloud.

“Momota, don’t forget… there’s only one woman we know that is capable of taking this on by herself.”

Momota’s eyes widen; Harukawa stands up firmly. “If that’s what it takes, I’ll do it.”

\--

Kiibo’s search for Shinguji tracks him down to a pretty large and popular club, which means it might take some time to find him in the crowd. 

Momota contacts them while they’re on the way to the place. It makes sense that Shinguji would choose such a location; it’s loud, crowded, environment would allow him to blend in surreptitiously, and it wouldn’t be unlikely for patrons to leave with another in tow. He briefs them on the plan as they near the establishment. “Alright, listen up! Saihara, Amami, you’ll scout in the car to follow the culprit once Harumaki lures him out. You’ll be listening in to Harumaki’s conversation for any signs of the plan backfiring too. I’ll be watching over the situation inside, and Hoshi and Oma are gonna be stationed at the exits to make sure he doesn’t slip away.”

“Got it,” Saihara replies, and soon enough they’re there.

Harukawa’s got devices on her to provide video and audio of what she’s seeing, so nothing happens right away. It could take her some time to find the target in such a busy atmosphere. Either way, she’s got her dominator on her, albeit it’s stashed in the bag she carries instead of on her person; there’s nowhere to hide it in the clothing she’s wearing to blend in.

He hopes everything goes according to plan, but there’s that feeling of anxiety bubbling under his skin regardless, so he looks to Amami to distract himself for the time being. Saihara recognizes the look on Amami’s face. It’s similar to the one the enforcer had when they were investigating the bodies.

“Ah, are you alright, Amami?”

He hears Amami sigh from beside him, tapping idly with his finger on the car door where he leans, “you’re pretty observant, you know?”

“Am I?”  _ Shuichi isn’t sure that he is…  _ he’s just as observant as any other person,  _ isn’t he? _

“I want to tell you something Saihara,” The enforcer lets him know, and he doesn’t wait for an answer before expanding, “my sisters were murdered. Cases like these remind me of them.”

“A-ah.” Shuichi’s eyes widen. “I’m… sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. It was a long time ago.” Amami gives him a small smile, and Shuichi’s eyebrows shoot up under his hair. “Seeing all twelve of my sisters like that is what threw me into the deep end. My psycho-pass reached it’s limit and never returned.” 

It’s completely understandable that his hue would cloud from witnessing a scene like that, but Shuichi can’t help but be shocked. “...Twelve!?” he isn’t sure if he heard it right. If his ears aren’t fooling him, then that sure is a lot of sisters.

“Haha, yeah. It shocks most people when I tell them.” 

Shuichi isn’t sure how to respond to that. But, one thing’s for sure; he definitely understands Amami a lot better than he did. 

“Well, if you ever need someone that fits the role of big brother, let me know.” Amami gives him a vaguely cynical, reminiscent chuckle before focusing on the task at hand. Watching Harukawa play her role on his holo.

“You know, you kind of remind me of one of my sisters,” he adds, almost as an afterthought.

Shuichi doesn’t know if he should take it as an insult or a compliment.

He isn’t given much time to think about it, though, because the audio changes from the club’s background music, and there is suddenly a voice in his ears. He ups the volume. Korekiyo Shinguji, it must be. 

“Be careful, you wouldn’t want to trip…”

“I’m sorry. I don’t usually go to places like this…” Harukawa trails off, feigning ignorance after deliberately bumping into the suspect. 

“Is that so..?”

“A friend convinced me…” 

Shinguji’s eyes are the sole visible feature on his face. The rest is covered with a zippered mask.  _ So that’s why he went undetected by the scanners. Sibyl can’t identify someone with most of their face covered. _

“She said I need to meet new people, so... I should introduce myself. My name is Emi Todakumi.” It’s an alias. Hoshi was the one to suggest it; they don’t know how much their suspect knows about the MWPSB, and they shouldn’t take any chances.

“Pleased to meet you, my name is Korekiyo Shinguji.”

If there were any doubts that this was their killer, they’re gone at this point. Shuichi figures that it’s probably taking some effort for Harukawa to stop her usual glare from surfacing as the two walk side by side towards the counter where food and drinks are served. Within the next few minutes, she orders a drink and keeps up the conversational facade. 

“Why is it that you wear a mask? Should I be worried?” Harukawa tilts her head.

Shuichi barely hears the low chuckle that passes through the speakers. “What a curious little flower,” Shinguji remarks, “You see, I have a fairly weak immune system. I have ever since I was young, so I wear it… to protect myself.” Shuichi’s eyes follow the subtle movement of the mask that covers the man’s mouth and nose. He has no doubt he’s smirking under there. It’s obvious to Shuichi - he isn’t using the mask to protect himself from  _ illness _ , he’s  _ using _ it to protect himself from the  _ scanners _ .

Harukawa nods in response.

_ That must be why Shinguji wasn’t questioned when he didn’t show up on scanners. If he claimed some illness, people wouldn’t suspect foul play when the scanners couldn’t get a reading on him.  _

It’s a good thing their dominators aren’t like the scanners, not needing a face to appraise threat level. It would be a big flaw in the system if that were the case, but since the scanners focus on groups of people instead of a single target, it’s not possible to pinpoint each body, and compensates by scanning their faces instead. Imperfections like these are how few select criminals slip through the fingers of the Sibyl system, and also why the members of the MWPSB are so necessary. 

“Is something wrong?” He leans on his chin on his hand, his arm perched on the counter as Harukawa receives her drink. 

“It’s just… I’m not used to loud places like this. I’d rather be somewhere quieter.” The camera diverts as Harukawa looks away, turning her head for a moment.

“Would you prefer to go outside?” He suggests. Shuichi doesn’t know how he knows that he’s grinning, but he’s sure of it. And with that, Harukawa nods again and follows their target towards one of the back exits. 

Another voice crackles through his holo, “Oma and Hoshi, Harumaki’s on her way out. Don’t let the suspect out of sight. Tail them once they leave.”

“Got it,” Hoshi answers back. 

“I see them,” Oma tells them, out of view of Harukawa’s recording. 

“Alright, you know what to do. Don’t screw this up.” Momota tells him, and then it’s silent.

Harukawa takes that moment to reach for her dominator, or at least, that’s what Shuichi assumes since right afterward her head tilts down to the open bag she’s already leafing through,  _ except it’s empty _ . Shuichi remembers seeing her dominator in there before they all parted ways,  _ so where is it now? _

“Looking for something?”

“Yes,” she replies swiftly, looking back up towards the culprit, “I was going to thank my friend for telling me about this place, but I can’t find my phone,” she lies.

With another chuckle from Shinguji, things start to deviate from the plan… 

“So, you weren’t looking for this?” he reveals the dominator from the hand behind his back and his eyes crinkle like he’s smiling under that mask. “Don’t tell me you honestly thought I believed your convenient approach and willingness to converse was just some coincidence,” he tuts. “I knew my actions would catch up with me sooner or later. How splendid that it would bring such a pure, brave policewoman right into the palm of my hand!”

He raises the gun and pulls the trigger, except -

“What’s this?” The serial killer looks at the gun, taken aback. “Not working?” he shrugs, tossing it far out of reach, “that’s not an issue, you see, I haven’t needed to use a gun before.” He closes in on Harukawa, who stands her ground, when Shinguji suddenly jerks his head to the side and sprints around wildly, narrowly avoiding a bullet which must’ve come from Oma’s dominator. 

There are a series of loud noises as the footage goes blurry, Harukawa taking off after him. “Amami and Saihara, he’s headed towards a vehicle. It’s a dark grey Subaru, no plates.” She huffs into her communications holo, still racing after him.”

Shuichi exchanges a look of determination with Amami and starts the ignition. They watch out for the car, and when it speeds out of one of the sidestreets, he slams his foot onto the gas and follows. 

“Everybody else, get to your cruisers now! I’ll send you Saihara and Amami’s location. We can’t lose this guy,” Momota’s voice booms through the comms. The sirens of the cruiser are on now, letting them evade traffic.

It doesn’t take long for Shuichi to wonder if Shinguji is headed back to his apartment. After all, he probably has no idea that his… hostages were already rescued. He informs the others of his conjecture and Momota calls on one of the other divisions of the Public Safety Bureau to get there first, supposing their culprit does. It’s best if he’s surrounded on all sides, with nowhere to run.

Shuichi wouldn’t say he’s a nervous driver, exactly, but in this situation, he realizes he’s acting on pure adrenaline. If his mind wasn’t too busy for him to overthink everything like he usually does, he’d probably be too anxious to make such sudden turns and lane changes, but for some reason, he’s focused… dead set on catching their culprit. 

He follows in and out of backroads, down dimly lit, empty streets. Shinguji’s trying to shake them off before redirecting course, towards the apartment; he’s sure of it. So, Shuichi lets him. He pretends to miss a sidestreet, knowing exactly where it’ll let out, and turns off the siren, vehicle-disguise holos raised. He easily relocates Shinguji on the next street over, slower now, more hidden. Shinguji might even think he’s in the clear. 

One thing Shuichi knows about criminals from all his training is that when they think they’ve won, they’re more likely to slip up. Shuichi is counting on it. When it all comes down to it, it’s much easier to catch someone when they’re laid-back and careless than when they’re cautious and alert.

\--

Momota and the others are still a few minutes away, but they can’t waste any more time. Division One is already staking out the apartment, awaiting Shinguji’s entry, A few of them are even hidden around the apartment, waiting for their time to shoot.

Shinguji hasn’t stepped out of the car yet. Shuichi’s not sure if he’s stalling for time, or just taking a breather after the whole car chase. He doesn’t think Shinguji knows that he’s in the vehicle now parked within walking distance, but still out of the killer’s sight, but he can’t be sure what’s going through the man’s head - how much he knows about what’s about to happen. There’s no way he knows about the other Enforcers and Inspectors waiting for him, and the same goes for the freed hostages, but him and Amami have to be as careful as possible from here on out. 

Shuichi tries to think of all the possible scenarios. It’s the best way to stop the worst outcome from happening. He thinks about the unknowns; Shinguji could have a weapon now that he’s been in his car. No, he has no doubt that there’s a weapon of some kind. Their culprit was planning to abduct someone else, so there’s no way he’d be unarmed. Minutes tick by like hours, and Shuichi tries to keep an eye on Shinguji without being seen. He’s got a car door open now, and he must’ve been fumbling around for something for him to have been in the car for those extra minutes, but the inspector couldn’t it see from his perspective.

That’s when the thought occurs to Saihara, the metaphorical dotted line of what was missing when they rescued those girls. 

_ The murder weapon wasn’t at his apartment. _

His breath catches as he realizes this fact. And then he thinks that maybe Shinguji knows a lot more about his current situation than he let on.  _ Was it just a ploy? Letting Harukawa lure him away from the crowd? Bypassing Oma’s shot? Did he know what was happening the whole time? _

He looks back to Shinguji’s car and he’s gone. Shuichi would’ve expected some shots to be fired from the officers scouting the building, but maybe the trajectory would’ve been blocked from their positions, however unlikely that may be.

He can’t dwell on it long because Momota and the others finally pull up into the silence and they follow the killer into his apartment. Harukawa tells them she will wait in the hall; the killer might try to run again. 

They enter the front door and are faced with the members of division one, dominators raised, but a blatant lack of Korekiyo Shinguji. 

The one with very light purple hair, donning an inspector’s uniform, lowers her dominator, She’s not very expressive when she acknowledges, “Inspector Kaito Momota,” with a nod of her head. “Where’s Korekiyo Shinguji?” 

“Kirigiri!” Momota greets. He starts to give an answer when there’s a resounding yelp from the kitchen. 

They run. 

Korekiyo Shinguji stands, gold plated katana pressed against another Inspector’s throat, window open behind them and blowing his hair with the breeze.

Shuichi recognizes her.

“Akamatsu…” He… he went to school with the girl. They trained in different academies, but Shuichi knew her aptitude test had suggested she work for the MWPSB as well,  _ but an inspector? _ Plus, he didn’t think he’d see her  _ here _ and now. 

“Now listen, you will lower your guns, or I take her life. It would benefit me greatly to add such a kind woman to my collection, but that’s up to you.” Shinguji threatens, and there’s no way it’s a bluff. 

They do as told, and before anything else can happen, Shuichi’s eyes are drawn to the movement of Inspector Kirigiri brushing her left hand against her right, both of them gloved.

Shuichi knew the power of the dominator theoretically, but watching Shinguji explode firsthand is nothing like watching training dummies explode into foam and fabric. There’s a lot more blood, skin stretching unnaturally, swelling - and then it’s over. The katana clatters to the ground in the puddle of Shinguji’s remains, all of them close enough to be hit with the splatter. 

He’s frozen in place until Kirigiri speaks into her holo, “Thank you Kuwata. The target has been eliminated.”  _ Huh?  _ She turns to the five of them, seemingly unbothered that she’s covered in blood. “I gave one of my enforcers a signal through my wristcom. It’s a good thing that no one was injured in the process.”

Akamatsu lets out a deep breath, “I was really scared… thanks for that, Kirigiri.”

Kirigiri doesn’t physically respond to the statement, walking away from all of them towards the apartment exit as she says, “it’s my job.” 

On their way out they’re met with another face coming out of the bathroom - an enforcer, based on the lack of uniform. He scratches the back of his head after he sees the lot of them, “man, I missed all the action?” he nearly whines. 

“Our job here is done, Soda. We’re wanted back at headquarters.” 

“Bye Saihara!” Akamatsu waves. And with that, they leave.

Division three can’t help but dwindle a few minutes in the aftermath. Shuichi’s still processing what happened. It all happened so fast, and his heart is still racing. He swallows his saliva and tries to push it out of his mind for now. They should be getting back to headquarters too. 

He’s still shaken up when he starts the car, his fingers trembling against the now blood-smeared steering wheel.

_ He’s covered in blood. _

_ He watched someone explode today. _

“Saihara-chan!” Oma breaks him out of his thoughts. 

“Oma-kun?” He didn’t notice Oma getting in the car.

“What? You didn’t notice me? Waaaaaah! Am I that invisible to Saihara-Chan?”

“I-“ 

His crocodile tears dry up, “Just kidding…! I actually was invisible until now!”

The inspector’s eyes meet Oma’s through the rearview mirror.

“Yep! I’ve got a super secret tool that makes me disappear from the planes of reality!” He chirps on.

Shuichi blinks.

“But, that’s a lie.” 

“What-“

“Maybe I’m a double agent! Actually super evil! That’s why I can slip in so unexpectedly!”

Shuichi doubts that.

“It’s true! I’m the evil leader of a secret organization with over ten-thousand members! I can’t lead them day by day, so I keep all communications confidential and out of sight,” he lies.

Shuichi swallows more of his saliva, the metallic scent in the air pulling him away from Oma’s musings. “Oma-kun, does what just happened, really not bother you?”

“Nee-heehee! You’re an inspector now Saihara-chan, couldn’t you tell I was not talking about Shinguji on purpose? Hmm? Talking about him is booooring! My secret organization is much more interesting!”

He’s doing it on purpose, he notices, eyes widening imperceptibly. Shuichi smiles at Oma’s attempt to distract him. It’s… nice. Momota tried to paint him as some malicious force to be reckoned with, but Saihara just can’t see him like that. He seems like the kind of guy with good intentions, behind all of his ridiculous lies and masks. 

But then, he realizes there’s still blood all over him, and he can feel it drying into his uniform, and all he wants to do is take a shower and then sleep for as long as he can before his mind replays the event in the form of nightmares. 

He looks back to Oma who’s putting on a happy smile, and Amami who’s deep in thought looking out the window, and thinks that maybe not all of his dreams will be too bad…

\--

“Sooooo, how’d you know that other Inspector, huh, huh, huh?” Oma’s tone can only be described as eagerly curious as Shuichi whips his head around to face him. They’re back at the MWPSB now, clean of blood and most of them in their rooms for the night. Kiibo still lingers at his monitors, writing out the info of the case to send to the top. Hoshi was wandering the halls too, but Shuichi’s not sure if he is anymore. 

Shuichi scratches his cheek, his eyelids scrunching up, “ah, yeah… we um, dated actually, back in Secondary School...”

Oma rests a hand on his chin, peering at Saihara interestedly from where he’s leaning on the desk Saihara sits at. 

The inspector sighs, not necessarily wanting to continue, but also knowing that he brought it up, so he should at least explain. “It didn’t work out… she tried pushing me to do things I wasn’t comfortable with.” He’s not looking Oma in the eyes anymore, more focused on the memories he’s relaying.

“Woah,” 

Oma’s gaping, eyebrows raised and it’s what snaps his attention back to the other male as realization dawns on him. He waves his hands in front of his face frantically. “N-not like that… I mean, parties, karaoke, and things. I didn’t like being put on the spot. She uh… was looking for a more outgoing person… and that’s something I’m not.”

“Ooooh,” Oma nods.

“It’s really nothing interesting, I probably shouldn’t have-“

“Saihara-chan, have I ever told you about the people inside my head? You’d probably like them, nee-heehee!”

“Wh-what?!”

“Yup! That's probably waaaay more interesting than your dumb exes! I don’t know much about all of them, but they know all about me!”

_ Is that… another lie?  _ No words leave Shuichi’s mouth.

The room goes quiet after that; Oma isn’t saying anything else either. He’s not looking at him anymore either.

Then Oma grins but it doesn’t meet his eyes as he stares through Shuichi. “That was a lie!” 

_ He… should’ve expected as much. _ But… something is different about  _ this time _ and all of the other times Kokichi lied. Shuichi just isn’t sure what yet.

“I should go home… It’s late, and I haven’t got much sleep.”

“Awwww, already Saihara-chan?” Oma asks him on his way out the door.

“Yeah,” he confirms, “thank you, Oma-kun.” He doesn’t wait for a response. It’s been a long few days, and he’s glad the case can finally be put to rest. Maybe he can rest too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well folks, we made it. The first arc of this story is now complete :} This is the first arc of a multi-chaptered story I’ve ever completed in my life.  
> Now, with this pride, I shall begin the second arc. Hopefully it goes as smoothly as this one. (I might add a bit of a filler chapter though.)


End file.
